


Racing Hearts and Emergency Brakes

by YoshiClouds



Category: Mario Kart (Video Games), Super Mario & Related Fandoms, Super Mario Odyssey (Video Game)
Genre: Bananas, Comedy, Driving, F/F, Girls Kissing, Lesbian Character, Racing, Romance, Suggestive Themes
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-04
Updated: 2019-07-04
Packaged: 2020-06-03 20:40:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,525
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19471780
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/YoshiClouds/pseuds/YoshiClouds
Summary: Peach and Pauline ride as a team, Double Dash-style, on the acclaimed Daisy’s Circuit. But, Peach gets awkward during the race. One thing leads to another... and another pair of racers sees an opportunity.





	Racing Hearts and Emergency Brakes

**Author's Note:**

> This fanfic uses characters that are Copyright (C) by Nintendo Co., Ltd. No harm to profits is intended. This fanfic is written for the entertainment of fellow fans and is intended to celebrate Nintendo's work. Thank you Nintendo.

Wind hurtled over the racing kart’s steering wheel, making Peach glad she’d worn gloves for the race. The road was a pink curve; it reflected some deep orange tones from the sun on the horizon, but growing shadows made it seem an almost aquatic shade of pink. The air of the evening felt warm on Peach’s face. She knew why so many people loved this track. Daisy's track was her pride and joy, and it showed. There was a rule about this track: only on warm evenings may it be used.

The second, lesser known rule was that it was best to race with someone you think is special...

She glanced in the side-mirror. Mayor Pauline crouched behind her, wearing a red and yellow racing suit designed specifically for her. Brown hair billowed and surged behind her head. Around her neck was a brand-new lanyard, to which was attached a rectangular badge that said, “MAYOR PAULINE - DOUBLE DASH APPROVED.”

“How is this legal, Princess?” said Pauline over the wind. The roar surrounding them was so loud that Peach could barely hear. “I don’t have a seatbelt!”

“I’ll explain in a second. Quick, hold on tight!” said Peach. They took a sweeping turn around a group of buildings. Pauline’s legs shot out from under her, and she held onto the side of the kart for dear life. The kart bounced up and down and rattled against the tile stones of a plaza. Finally, Peach managed to regain control, and they continued down a small street. Pauline clambered back on.

“Peach!"

"Sorry, habits!"

"... Hey, what do I do with this red shell?” shouted Pauline. “I grabbed it back there.”

“Oh, nice, Pauline! Try throwing it back!”

“At Isabelle???”

“Yeah, knock her out of her vehicle!”

“You’re kidding!” protested Pauline.

“She won’t get hurt! Really! The Lakitus will catch her!” Peach heard Pauline throw the shell. It freewheeled across the street behind them, and just seconds later they heard the frustrated wail of Isabelle.

“This is fun, Princess!” said Pauline. “The Lakitus caught her and brought her right back to the track!”

Princess Peach’s heart warmed. It was clear that Pauline cared about the safety of others. And, it warmed Peach’s heart even more to see the mayor enjoying herself by throwing items left and right at approaching karts. Peach could see Pauline’s happy expression through the smudged side-mirror as they rumbled past a big round fountain. Peach breathed in a huge breath, and exhaled.

Her mind was not as focused on the race as she would have liked. One big reason was that, for most of the time, her thoughts were on Pauline. They were decent friends, and could depend on each other. But Peach had a less “official” stance about the mayor. She was _attracted_ to the mayor. It didn’t help that Pauline was currently grasping Peach’s shoulder for support. It wasn’t clear why—maybe Pauline didn’t knew about the handle-bar on the kart. But Peach wasn’t bothered by the hand. On the contrary, she loved it.

“Oops, ran out of items!” said Pauline. “Hey, um, Princess Peach? Where... should my hands be? I don't want to hurt your shoulder.”

Princess Peach pretended to look for an answer. “Oh, you’re fine! Use the handle-bar if you need, but ehm... I, uh, I’m fine with however you wanna do it!”

“I’m a lot bigger than you, Your Highness!” said Pauline. Peach could hear the grin in her voice. “Let me give your back a break.”

Peach felt Pauline’s hand let go of her shoulder, and then she heard the squeak of the handle-bar. The racetrack then got a whole lot more yellow. They passed into an amber-colored tunnel with traffic cones at the edges. The light was weaker in here, so the princess and the mayor were thrown into dim shadows.

Their voices were also louder.

Peach didn’t like to admit it to herself, but she wished she had just said, "no Pauline, keep your hands on me for the rest of the race." But they didn't have that kind of relationship, did they? They were just rulers of lands, and their friendship could only run so deep. Couldn't it? But Peach felt a deep regret. An ache forming in her belly.

“Your Honor,” said Peach. She felt totally awkward, so her eyes fixed on the fuel gauge of the kart. “I... I think my back would feel better... if you held onto me...”

There it was. Her secret laid bare. Their kart kept sputtering beneath them as they drove onward in the tunnel. Doubt set on. Peach was scared. What had she done? Did Pauline take it the wrong way? Did Pauline interpret it in a “just friends” way, or did she see the hidden message? So many things could go wrong. The tunnel kept getting darker, and her hands started shaking. She gulped.

The tunnel suddenly ended. Light coursed over the track, sparkling over the ocean waters and reflecting off the metal of their kart. Pauline’s arms slipped right around Peach’s waist, all the way around. Relief washed over Peach like the foam spray off the side of the track. They were buffeted again by winds. She breathed.

“Is this... okay?” said Pauline, holding tight onto the Princess’s body.

“Yes...” said Peach. As she adjusted to this arrangement, she noticed something else. A pressure against her back. Two pressures to be precise. “Um, hey Pauline?”

“Your Highness?”

* * *

_Those meanies!_ thought Isabelle as she zoomed through the tunnel at max speed. Her cheeks flushed red, and steam might as well have been whistling out her ears because she was mad as fire. “I’ll show you!” she howled. “You don’t have what it takes to be in politics. You think you can just scoot past and leave everyone else begging for scraps in the DIRT. I know what you are! A jerkface! And a well-sung jazz number won’t change my mind! Why, I oughta...”

Link was crouched down in the back of Isabelle’s indigo kart. He had a pile of bananas next to him, but they were difficult to see in the tunnel. It was too dim. But, always the keen hunter, Link knew exactly where his ammunition was, and he knew where to lay his traps. He grabbed a banana—and tossed it. It soared like an arrow, and landed prettily on top of a traffic cone. “Hyaah,” he said. “Iyah, hyaah.”

“Oh, Link! I don't get mad often. It's just... that mayor drives me nuts,” said Isabelle as she stood with her small weight on the gas pedal. “There’s the end of the tunnel! Do you see it? Oh, and I see that mayor up there.”

The two race karts were closing in distance. Isabelle and Link shared a mischievous look. The time for blood was upon them. Link grabbed a banana and was about to throw, when...

Peach and Pauline broke their kiss. They stared at each other, allowing what they'd just experienced to settle. “So...” said Pauline.

Peach couldn’t help but smile, blush, and necessarily drag her focus to the task at hand: driving.

Isabelle and Link huddled arm-in-arm on their kart, facing away from the scene they had just witnessed. “Ohmigosh ohmigosh ohmigosh..!” squealed Isabelle.

“Hai hyaah!” said Link. His eyes were wide.

“Do you know what this means?”

“Aigh!”

They glanced over their shoulders toward the other race kart. Despite the proximity of the two karts, Peach and Pauline had not yet noticed the potential overtakers. The matriarchs seemed dazed and in worlds of thought as they sped down the final stretch of the track.

“Not much time! They look, um, distracted?” whispered Isabelle. “Um, um, I’ve got an idea. If you hop over there with your grappling hook, you could pull their emergency break!”

Link waved his hands in a firm “no.”

They glanced ahead at the finish line. It waved over the track like an oasis.

Isabelle tugged on Link’s shirt. “Mr. Link, I know this sounds crazy,” she said, face as cold as a stone, “but I think if you throw me, I can do this.”

* * *

The finish line was just ten seconds away, and Peach was riding high on a sea of butterflies. Suddenly, she heard something slam into the back area of the kart. “What was that?” she said.

“Isabelle, why—!” said Pauline.

Peach glanced back, and saw that the little yellow dog was kicking her back paws at Pauline’s face and reaching for the emergency brake. Isabelle's face contorted as she stretched her arm. “Just... an... inch..!”

She finally managed to get one paw onto the emergency brake, and pulled. The car screeched to a halt, sending Pauline into the ocean. In moments, the race was over. All the contestants began to gather round for pictures and a final hoorah. Pauline was brought out of the ocean by a Lakitu and given a towel to dry off with.

Isabelle and Link were declared the winners. Their kart made it to the finish line first. But, as Peach and Pauline shared glances during the fanfare, they knew that they, too, were winners in their own way.


End file.
